Marketing to multiple audiences simultaneously using strategic ambiguity: A study of credit card choice behavior

Abstract

ABSTRACT In marketing efforts, messages are commonly tailored to audiences to ensure effective outcomes. One way to tailor messages consists in providing arguments that appeal to the characteristics of a specific target audience. However, this strategy can decrease the message’s appeal to a non-target audience. Drawing on the concept of strategic ambiguity, an alternative strategy to tailor messages is proposed and tested. Strategically ambiguous messages provide arguments that appeal to several audiences (multiple audience tailoring). These messages combine attributes that are relevant to distinct audiences, and audiences are expected to pay selective attention to attributes that are most relevant for them. The effectiveness of one-audience and multiple-audience tailoring was compared in an experiment with credit-card holders. Single audience tailoring was the most effective form of tailoring. Multiple audience tailoring was more effective than unmatched tailoring in various conditions. The study enhances our understanding of message tailoring using ambiguity to increase marketing effectiveness.